📸 PhotoPhoto: Public domain · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons Source
Humpback anglerfish
Melanocetus johnsonii (Humpback anglerfish · ペリカンアンコウ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The female length of 18 cm is slightly shorter than the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 The male length of 2.9 cm is just slightly larger than the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (about 2.65 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is a deep-sea fish living at depths from 100 m to 4,500 m and is collected with plankton nets (FishBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The humpback anglerfish is an anglerfish living in mesopelagic to bathypelagic waters across tropical and temperate zones of all oceans. It is known from specimens brought up in plankton nets.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Females grow up to 18 cm in total length, whereas males are tiny at 2.9 cm. Males are non-parasitic and do not live permanently fused to the female's body.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It can catch and swallow prey larger than itself, with a record of another fish about 24 cm long found in the stomach of a 6.6 cm individual. Its eggs appear to float inside gelatinous masses, and larvae are found mainly in the upper 100 m.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2015) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18127840/21911455
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 3Z86X
- • iucnredlist.org — 21911455
- • wikidata.org — Q535212
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Humpback anglerfish.png
- • fishbase.se — Melanocetus-johnsonii.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — S.Martini · CC0 1.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Melanocetus)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.